Post-Hike Rewards: What Trekkers Like to Eat and Drink at the End of a Long Trail

Karen McCann enjoys exploring the scenery around her. She notes "whenever I play in Red Rock, I bring a 'baby' Coke (the 7.5 oz size) in my backpack to enjoy on the summit of whatever peak I tackle. It's a refreshing reward on a hot day!"

(Photo Credit: )

Karen McCann has a tradition every
time she hikes the Mount Charleston Peak trail near her home in Las Vegas. She
tucks a chilled can of Coca-Cola into her backpack and takes it out to enjoy
when she reaches the 12,000-foot summit.

“It’s a welcome reward after reaching
the top,” gushes the pianist and vocal coach.

McCann, an avid hiker and road biker
who has scaled the sandstone peaks of Red Rock Canyon and California’s Mount
Whitney, likes to reward herself and her friends after a vigorous day of
exercise. Besides Coke (the 7.5-ounce cans fit neatly into her backpack), she
often brings along triple-chocolate brownies, pumpkin bread, or Nanaimo bars -- a
favorite Canadian dessert -- to share after a hike or bike ride.

At the Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch, all provisions are brought in by
mule.

Ted Ehrlich, TrailGroove Magazine

While much discussion goes into the
best trail mix, energy bars, and other stamina-building nourishment to have
along the trail, it’s the post-trek refreshments that are often the most
memorable, outdoor enthusiasts say.

Pizza, cheeseburgers, and
ice-cold soft drinks ranked among the favorite rewards for hikers participating in a
forum discussion on TrailGroove, an online magazine focused on
the backpacking, hiking and outdoors community. Inspired by his habit of
talking wistfully about food three miles before a hike's end, one TrailGroove
member asked others to conjure up their own post-hike dream dinners. One hiker
started ticking off all the components of a Thankgiving feast. Another
mentioned all-you-can-eat pizza buffets. And the comments kept coming:

"A good sammi is the best."

"...a big juicy burger place
with fries and anything with ice."

"After a long, hot, sweaty hike,
there's nothing like dreaming of an ice-cold Coca-Cola waiting for me, with
cold sweat dripping down the sides of the can."

'Best Drink I Ever Had'

Coke has played a role in other
hiking experiences as well. Superstar hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis,
who set the world's overall record for completing the Appalachian Trail in 2011,
sipped it in the early afternoons during her 47-day trek, for an added kick to
a steady diet of energy chews and hard-boiled eggs.

Paul Calardo, who
hiked Mount Kilimanjaro last year with his father and brother, recalls the
first thing he did when he reached the end of his six-day Tanzanian expedition,
in which the meals largely consisted of porridge, potatoes and purified stream
water.

"The second we came out of the
gate, we saw the gift shop and immediately went in and bought a Coke,"
Calardo said. "We cheered each other, and I think the first words out of
my mouth were this is the best drink I ever had.”

It's not easy operating a food stand
near the end of a remote trailhead. But those that do, like the one at the
Kilimanjaro trailhead, carry an almost magical quality for hikers at the end of
a long trek. Even the kiosks that stick to basics like trail mix and cold sodas
draw a steady stream of customers looking for a post-exercise treat.

Just below
the summit of Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, a snack stand and gift shop
built by the U.S. Conversation Corps has been serving bottled water, cans of
Coke, hot chocolate, and candy bars to summiteers since the 1950s, said Mount Mitchell State Parkranger
Billy Drakeford. Mountain bikers plan their routes around the building, he
adds, "because they know it's a place where they can re-fuel."

Still other trailhead concession
stands must let nature dictate what they bring in. At Phantom Ranch, a rustic campsite and cafe
at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, for instance, all provisions are toted in by
mule. Breakfast and dinner must be reserved in advance and tend to be the
stick-to-your-ribs variety: New York strip steak, baked potatoes, beef or
vegetarian stew, eggs, and pancakes.

"Everything at Phantom Ranch is
packed in and out," Ted Ehrlich, a writer for TrailGroove, noted in anarticle about his early spring hike
to the bottom of the canyon. "Keeping that in mind, the scale of what's
available is impressive."

Or, as another hiker framed it about
her favorite post-hike nosh: "I just want anything that does not have to
be rehydrated."